#43: Where To Start Learning Tamil ๐
Why I Keep Publishing ๐จ๐พโ๐ป
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เฎฎเฎพเฎฒเฏ เฎตเฎฃเฎเฏเฎเฎฎเฏ (maalai vaNakkam), Buenas Noches, and Good Evening from New York City!
Iโll be sharing a thing I did, a tweet I liked, and a thought I had.
A Thing โ๐พ
I published an essay titled Where To Start Learning Tamil.
3 years ago, I couldnโt speak a full sentence in Tamil. Now, I have 45 minute conversations with native speakers. Iโve never even been to Sri Lanka.
This is the guide I wish Iโd had when I started.
I know that overwhelming feeling of not knowing where to start.
Finding Northern Province Tamil resources is a journey on its own.
Donโt worry, hereโs where you start.
A Tweet ๐ฆ
In college, I was a C+ student. I was struggling to get by in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science classes. Without Sam Lang, Sahil Shah, and countless others, I wouldnโt have graduated.
At my first job, I couldnโt take a ticket and turn it into a working solution. My manager, Xinjie Li, was patient enough to give me space to learn. My coworkers (Nikitia Imenov, Ankit Trivedi, Mark Anderson) taught me how to branch, vim bindings, C++ specifics, and how to get by in corporate software.ย
After I quit to found Quotail, I became paralyzed with fear. I would be full of regrets if it hadnโt been for Sahil Shahโs help.
After I got fired the first time, I thought it hadnโt affected me. But once I got to Bloomberg, I was afraid of getting fired every day. My team was using the Fortran 79 compiler. HR wouldnโt let me switch teams.
I started interviewing externally. My friend and manager, Donato Borrello at JW Player, took a chance on me. He listened to me. He understood me. He helped me.
The safety of that environment allowed me to grow into a prolific developer.
After management gave me a 1.9% raise, I started interviewing again. I had just broken up with my live-in girlfriend. My costs doubled overnight. It was do or die.
Double my money or leave New York.
I kept a straight face as I asked for $300K in total compensation. I knew it would be a tall ask from a mid-level engineer. But
, manager of the Growth Engineering team at Jet.com, believed in me.He got it done.
Even after Walmart shut down Jet.com, Louie helped me by putting me in the room with the technical leaders. He made sure I was heard. He boxed out on busy work. He battled the other managers in calibrations.
I was promoted twice in three years. To Distinguished Engineer. A level most engineers never get to.
I write often about how I did this or I did that. But the reality is, without the help from my friends and family, thereโs no way any of this wouldโve happened.
And if youโre reading this and itโs triggered unhelpful comparisons - please remember that I got ridiculous amounts of help from my friends and family.
They believed in me even when I didnโt believe in myself.ย
The least I could do is pay it forward.
A Thought ๐ญ
I recently sat on a panel for the 3rd cohort of Newsletter Launchpad.
A question came up about the unexpected benefits of starting a newsletter. Iโve met people to practice Tamil with. Iโve shared my dreams of internet money before I launched my first small bet, โHow To Get Promoted Beyond Senior Engineerโ. I even started writing about my first love, cooking.
But through that conversation, I realized an even deeper benefit.
Showing up consistently and vulnerably, even if itโs someoneโs inbox, is more than most people get.
Humans love predictability. Consistency.
Writing a newsletter from the heart, regularly, is the kind of connection humans crave.
You could see it as a bummer that most people donโt have that kind of consistency in their lives.
But I see it as a beautiful opportunity to show up for you.
And to show up for myself.
With Love,
Janahan
Whenever you're ready, there are 2 additional ways I can help you:
1. If youโre looking to break past the senior software engineer glass ceiling, Iโd recommend starting with this affordable course. These are the secrets Iโve learned from going from a mid-level to a Distinguished Engineer in less than 4 years. Join 91+ students from over 16 countries.
2. If you want to grab coffee in New York City, hit reply to let me know when youโre in town โ
"please remember that I got ridiculous amounts of help from my friends and family." ๐ฅ
This is an important point! It makes a difference. Love that transparency.
maybe one day youโll have a Tamil language school though right now I want to learn Turkish...